Crimson Clouded Skies
by yuru
Summary: Konoha's gone. Naruto's taken a backseat to the Kyuubi. Sakura's been enslaved. And the Akatsuki is trying to take over the world. How much more will it take for traitor Sasuke to care? SPOILERS upto ch430! rape, murder, revenge, and a mouthful of lust.


**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Naruto!**

**R E A D - W A R N I N G S ! ! !  
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**WARNINGS: This fic contains SPOILERS up to Chapter 430 in the manga! It's a pretty dark fic so don't read if you want a happy fluffy experience!**

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**Chapter One  
**_Return To Trepidation_

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"Konoha's gone."

The haggard voice of an old man was barely heard over the whiz of a strong dusty breeze.

"What happened?" The strange man who had arrived not an hour ago to the crumbled city turned his emotionless midnight eyes to the scraggly geezer who revealed what was most obvious.

"Akatsuki." The geezer leaned heavily on his crooked cane, his face pinched in pain; at the effort of standing or the mention of the fearful name of the gang of murderers not certain.

"Any survivors?" The stranger slid his dark eyes over the piles of rubble that stretched for miles.

"Many." Came the old man's clipped response.

"Then where are they?" The cocky voice of a silver-haired man sounded behind the first stranger as three more people appeared.

"Scattered throughout the countries. Haven't heard from any of them." The old geezer kept his startled response to the newcomers under control as he stared openly at the fearsome man with orange hair spiked up who towered over his crippled form.

"Then who are all these people?" The prissy voice of the red-headed girl drew the old man's attention and he hurried to answer at her expectant expression as she turned her blood red eyes on him.

"Civilians with no where else to go. Trying to rebuild something akin to their former lives." His hurried answer slowed down at the reminder of the hopeless future that fell before him and his fellow survivors.

"What about the Hokage?" The dark-eyed man asked.

"She left too."

His emotionless eyes flicked to the old man whose heart skipped a beat when his eyes met his.

"Why?"

"S-She had no choice." Beads of sweat began to form on the old man's forehead and he stared hard at the dirt ground in a determined effort to avoid the prying dark eyes of the man before him; more fearsome than the giant behind him.

"You're hiding something old man!" The silver-haired man with razor sharp teeth shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at the trembling geezer.

"N-No! I-I.."

The dark man hardened his eyes and he took a threatening step towards the geezer whose knees were wobbling so badly that he fell to the ground, his twisted cane clattering from his grip.

"What are you hiding?" The man with dark eyes stood above him causing the old man to crane his neck to stare him in the face. As he watched he saw the dark orbs fade to a crimson red swirling in his sockets. He barely made out the strange symbol that made out the Sharingan of the famous Uchiha clan before his vision started to become hazy.

"W-Wait, please. I-I'll tell you everything, please!" The desperate plea fell weakly from the old man's lips and when the man's eyes returned to black, he sagged to the ground panting heavily.

"Well, spit it out old man." The silver-haired man nudged his side roughly with the toe of his sandal, causing the old man to stumble back onto his behind.

"Suigetsu! Stop freaking the old guy out before he gets a heart attack and keels over!" The only girl shouted as she shoved Suigetsu away from the terrified geezer, his humongous sword causing him to overbalance and stumble back, barely catching himself from falling.

"What the fuck! Keep your ungirly hands off me!" Suigetsu yelled as he regained his balance, turning furiously on the girl with red hair who was inhaling to yell back.

Both were stopped short when the man with the Sharingan stepped between them, his face emotionless as he looked at the both of them in turn, "Suigetsu, Karin, calm down. Now isn't the time."

Karin immediately deflated in embarrassment, "Yes, sorry Sasuke-kun." Her barely audible mumble was heard above the scuffling of Sasuke's sandals against the filth covering the ground that was once swept clean as he went to stand before the old man who was still sitting on the ground.

Sasuke ignored Suigetsu's loud "Hmph" as he plopped himself onto a nearby chunk of rubble that had probably been a piece of a building once upon a time and looked down at the still terrified, albeit calmer, old geezer. "As you were saying?"

The old man swallowed hard before beginning, "Th-The Fifth Hokage didn't leave on her own accord, and neither did her surviving ninjas. As I said before, the Akatsuki destroyed Konoha. Tsunade-sama and her followers tried hard to fight them off but they failed. The Hokage called for a retreat and we didn't hear anything for a couple of hours before the men who had invaded appeared in the city. A man with piercings all over his face and body declared that Akatsuki now ruled Konoha since its Hokage and her ninjas fell to their power. Then a woman with a white flower in her hair appeared with Tsunade-sama's unconscious body as proof of her defeat. After that they ordered everyone to start the rebuilding of Konoha and anyone who tried to run away or send for help was immediately tortured to the brink of death and then thrown back to work. It's been a few months since that day." The old man fell silent and waited for a response.

"Where is the Hokage now?" Sasuke asked in a deadpan voice.

The old man flinched at the reminder before continuing, "She was sent away along with her surviving ninjas to who knows where. But there's been whisperings amongst us that someone heard Pein, the man with the many piercings, say something about sending them to the numerous Akatsuki hideouts, dividing Konoha's ninjas, drugged and despaired, and making them servants of the Akatsuki. But we're skeptical of it because how can Konoha's strong and fearless ninjas be brought down like that?"

Sasuke looked away at the begging hope in the old man's eyes, listening to the tremble in his voice before turning away from him and facing his three fellow members of the team he had created.

"Wow, what now?" Suigetsu looked to Sasuke, unsure of how his leader would respond to the news of what happened to his hometown and its occupants.

"We keep moving." And without another word he moved past them, heading for the trees of the forest that surrounded the rubble that had once been the Hidden Village of Leaf, Konohagakure, leaving the confused old geezer behind, his hopes of help smashed at the sight of the group's retreating backs.

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"Do you think he'll try to cause any trouble?"

Pein turned to glance at Konan's expressionless face before shrugging.

"I hope so."

He turned to look down at the retreating figures before they disappeared into the thick brush that remained around the half-cleared crater he had created.

He didn't realize it had taken this long for the measly number of survivors to clear out the rubble of their devastated village, less than half of it was cleanly disposed of after only four months. Now that Sasuke had finally returned to see what became of the Village he wanted to destroy, Pein decided he needed to send for some outside assistance to get moving on rebuilding the village for the Akatsuki's purposes.

"Konan," Pein started without turning his face from the pathetic view of the once-great Village, "send word to Him that we need some extra assistance. No matter how hard we push these villagers, the new site won't be completed any time soon and that will put a hamper on Akatsuki's plans."

Without even sparing her a glance, Pein barely registered Konan's acknowledgment of her orders nor her departure to carry them out. He continued to stare at the far expanse of green forest, sensing the fading chakra of the group that had left just minutes ago as they made their way farther and farther away.

He had a foreboding feeling that something was going to come of this revelation to the Uchiha brat. He was going to confront Tobi no doubt. His chance to crush Konoha was taken from him and he was probably fanning a smoldering anger within for the very group that had revealed this new objective to him and stolen it right from under his nose.

Trouble was no doubt on its way.

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Sasuke left his Eagle Team outside as he entered the only Akatsuki hideout he was aware of. It was the one he had opened his eyes in after his fight with Uchiha Itachi; the last fight that ended in his brother's death.

It didn't take him long to find Tobi, his bright orange mask secured over his face as he reclined on a moth-eaten sofa, the even rise and fall of his chest the only indication that he was asleep.

Sasuke took one step towards him and felt the exact moment Tobi came awake at his presence.

"What have you done?" Sasuke's even voice didn't betray the anger he felt but the fierceness in his dark eyes did.

Tobi slowly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the sofa while stretching his arms high above his head and yawing loudly.

"Ah, Sasuki-kun! What do I owe the pleasure?" Tobi's cheerful voice sounded behind the mask, not giving off any evidence that he had been fast asleep not seconds ago.

Sasuke resisted the urge to slam his fist into Tobi's mask-covered face and clenched his jaw before answering in a tight voice, "Why did you let them destroy Konoha?"

Tobi was silent for a few seconds before replying nonchalantly, "I have no idea what you're talking about Sasuke-kun. I didn't _let_ anyone destroy Konoha."

"Then where the hell was Konoha when I returned? Why did some old man tell me that an Akatsuki member covered in piercings appeared after the Village's destruction?" Sasuke nearly yelled.

"Oh, that." Tobi chuckled, completely oblivious to Sasuke's clenching fists and furious expression, "I had nothing to do with that."

Sasuke stopped mid step in confusion, "What? Aren't you Akatsuki's leader?"

"What makes you think that?"

Forcing a growl down Sasuke took a step towards the still seated Tobi, "Shouldn't you know what the hell your subordinates are up to?"

"I do know what they're up to."

"Then why the hell did you let them destroy Konoha when you knew _I _was supposed to crush it?"

"You took too long, Sasuke-kun. I couldn't wait for you to move on to Konoha so I let it play out. Pein was faster than you, that's all." Tobi's tone was still cheerful but Sasuke could feel the serious tone behind his words.

"What are you planning?" Sasuke asked, his nails digging into his palms at Tobi's blatant lack of remorse and the fact that he had been used.

"Now Sasuke-kun, if I told you that I'd have to trust you first, wouldn't I?" He slowly got to his feet, his Akatsuki cloak swishing with the movement, "Now be a good little fledgling and do as I say."

Sasuke unclenched his fists to cross his arms across his chest loosely, looking at Tobi coolly, "What makes you think I'll follow your orders? I only agreed to join Akatsuki with the chance of getting revenge on Konoha but now that you've taken that from me, I think I'll have to settle on getting revenge on you instead." Sasuke watched the dark hole in Tobi's orange mask for the glow of the Sharingan but it never came.

"But I thought you'd like to know what became of your old fellow Leaf ninjas." Tobi smirked beneath his mask at Sasuke's sudden stiffness and shrugged nonchalantly before walking to the only window in the room to lean on the windowsill, his back to the Uchiha.

"Where are they?" Came Sasuke's soft question; he barely succeeded in making it sound unconcerned.

"Oh, you'll have to be much more specific than that, Sasuke-kun." Tobi turned around to lean his behind against the wall beneath the window, his elbows cocked up behind him on the windowsill.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they've been split up and thrown into different Akatsuki territories."

_'So the old man was right_.' Sasuke thought, his heart speeding up at the knowledge.

"What do you plan to do with them?"

"Ah, slavery of course." Tobi picked at a fingernail with his thumbnail, unconcerned with the turmoil he was putting Sasuke through.

"Why..?" Sasuke fought the urge to swallow hard in fear that Tobi would hear him.

"Why not? They deserve it don't you think? Besides, it's better than killing them off. What would we do with all the bodies?"

Before Sasuke could think of a suitable response, Konan popped into the room in a puff of smoke, her expressionless face barely even glancing towards Sasuke. She didn't say anything immediately, just stood there, giving Sasuke time to collect his thoughts.

"Hey Konan!" Tobi pushed off the wall, seeming genuinely pleased to see Konan.

"Pein has requested assistance for the clearing out of the rubble in the Leaf Village." Konan's emotionless voice rang through the almost bare room.

At her words, Sasuke flicked his eyes to Konan then to Tobi, both equally unreadable.

"Ugh, he's so persistent. Fine, but don't expect much."

Without another word Konan puffed out of the room and Sasuke was left alone once again with the masked Akatsuki member.

"She's so unsociable." Tobi mumbled before facing Sasuke, "You're still here Sasuke-kun?"

"Where are all the other Akatsuki hideouts?" Sasuke asked, his voice firm and unwavering.

Tobi let out a sigh, "You're still on about those Konoha slaves? I thought you couldn't care less for any of them?"

"I don't."

"Then why bother knowing?" Tobi prodded.

"That's none of your business. Besides, what makes you think it's got anything to do with the slaves?"

"It's none of my business." Tobi smirked again beneath his mask at Sasuke's irritated twitch of his lips before leaving the room, beckoning for Sasuke to follow him.

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"What do we do now Sasuke-kun?" Karin asked when Sasuke finally emerged from the Akatsuki hideout into the walled in yard that surrounded it.

Sasuke let out a sigh before sitting on a stone bench set near the door he just exited from that faced the small training ground, the grass eaten way to dirt at the many feet that dug into it while sparring over the years. In his hand he clenched the map that Tobi had revealed all the Akatsuki hideouts on as well as the few villages that was taken over by them, including Konoha. Most of the villages had been small ones set in geographically isolated areas. And the numerous hideouts were scattered all over the map, shocking Sasuke at the amount of them. Konoha was the odd one out, the only Hidden Village to be taken over.

"I hope we _are_ going to do something or else I'm not sticking around Sasuke. You already killed Itachi and Konoha's already been crushed. What else is there?" Suigetsu's annoyed voice cut through Sasuke's thoughts.

The young Uchiha looked up to see Suigetsu with his humongous sword hoisted on his shoulder, staring down at Sasuke with an expectant expression. He barely noticed Karin's broiling anger at Suigetsu's rudeness and spoke up before a fight broke out between them.

"We're not going to do anything right now."

Suigetsu stumbled a bit and his sword slid from his shoulder to thud against the ground as he stared at Sasuke with a dumbfounded expression. Karin's anger dissipated as she turned her face to Sasuke open-mouthed.

"W-What? Didn't you just hear me? I'm not-"

"We won't do anything for the moment," Sasuke cut Suigetsu's stuttering protest with his clipped response, "we'll do as Akatsuki says until we know what's going on. I want to make my way around Akatsuki's territories and familiarize myself with them before I do anything. I don't know what happened to all the ninja from Konoha, whose alive or dead, so I'm going to bide my time." He stood to his feet and turned his back on his team while saying, "Any of you are welcome to leave; I won't force you to follow me."And then he made his way back to the door that led into the hideout he had just left moments before.

Juugo stared after Sasuke before glancing at the other two briefly and then following after Sasuke, his big form disappearing into the darkness beyond the door frame.

Karin glanced at Suigetsu and at his expectant look she huffed, "Well, I'm not abandoning Sasuke-kun. Do what you want." She waved a hand at him nonchalantly as she headed into the hideout to seek out Sasuke.

Suigetsu stood there alone for a moment before huffing louder than Karin did and following after her, all the while trying to come up with a plausible excuse for why he decided to stay with them and planning on tormenting Karin with her being in love with Sasuke as hers.

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**I hope you guys liked the start of this new fic! A little short, just a prelude kinda. I'm a little nervous about it because I have to stick to a lot of the facts from the manga unlike my previous Naruto fic where I created a whole new world within the Naruto world that gave me a lot of freedom. I hope the characterizations are believable and everything. I can't wait to see what you guys think! I plan on making this darker than my usual fics so it's going to be hard and different for me. So constructive criticism is very welcome! I don't like Sasuke and that's why I was pretty surprised that this first chapter was composed of mostly Sasuke (and no Sakura! _gasp_). Don't worry, I'll make up for that in the next chapter, lol! I don't know what the pairing is going to be so suggestions are welcome! I have the basic plot in my head, I just need to flesh it out a bit.  
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**Review and tell me what you thought! NO FLAMES!**

**yuru  
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